Out of the corner of my sleepy eye I noticed the two benjamins on the counter. “I’ll take twenty of the Hot Spot Bingo and twenty of the Nest Egg,” I heard the man in front of me in line say. He handed over the $200 and left.

I asked the cashier, “Did he just spend $200 in scratch-off tickets?”

“Yeah, and he does the same about twice a week. He won a bunch in the lotto a couple of months ago and now comes in to spend it.”

“Wow!” I sputtered. I paid my eighty-six cents for my can of Pepsi and left.